9:03 a.m. by Dolorès CHARLES
Allergen-free chocolate
Credit : Yann Launay
It’s World Allergy Week, with this Breton novelty for all those who love chocolate or spreads, but are allergic to certain products. A culinary discovery, produced in Morbihan at “Kâliner”.
Good news for those who suffer from food allergies: manufacturers are making efforts to remove allergenic ingredients, and some even go very far, like the new brand “Kâliner”, based in Lanester near Lorient: it produces a paste unique spread in the world. There are none of the 14 major allergens, the 14 allergens requiring declaration, including peanuts, cereals containing gluten, milk, eggs, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.
A significant episode at 26
It was his personal story that guided Arnaud Durat, founder of Kâliner. “I had a seizure at the age of 26 without knowing what was happening to me. I went to the emergency room, they had me tested and they realized that I was allergic to everything nuts. It was difficult as a pastry chef, because we use a lot of hazelnuts, almonds, all nuts in baking. I even had a little doubt about whether I would be able to. continue this profession and then I continued but I could no longer use everything and I could not work too much with these products. That’s why I wanted to create a nut-free praline. The idea came to me to start with cereal seeds: buckwheat is not really a cereal, to get that note of dried and nutty fruits that can be found in the classic praline.”
Credit : Yann Launay
Ingredients
How did Arnaud, originally a pastry chef, develop his recipe? “We looked at what existed on the market, and there was nothing. We didn’t see a spread without traces of the fourteen major allergens and what we could have without lactose or without eggs or without some allergens , we had very strong tastes, things that were a little bitter, very cocoa-y and the idea was still to make something good. I’m a pastry chef and a foodie to begin with! My work was to seek out this note of nuts and praline while working on the roasting of our buckwheat… It had to be good and pleasant for everyone, even for non-allergic people in a family where there is an allergic child; because it’s a shame that brothers and sisters are deprived of everything, because you can’t put a hazelnut spread in the cupboard.”
Credit : Yann Launay
Kaliner – mise en pot
Credit : Yann Launay
“We chose to make a product that is fairly easily accessible.”
It is a spread without the major allergens but a gourmet spread, which is not austere, with a clever dosage of buckwheat, supplied by a Mayenne workshop, and roasted in Lanester. The sunflower oil used is French, the chocolate comes from Belgium… and in the end, it remains accessible for consumers. “People today compare with the big national brand that we won’t name… and inevitably we are more expensive, explains Arnaud Durat. We are working on an organic product with selections of raw materials, but we have chosen to make a product that is fairly easily accessible. The average for spreads is generally between €17 and €25 per kilo, and to give you an idea, it is €19 per kilo for a jar, €7.90 for a 400 gram jar. We made family pots, we stay within prices that are fairly consistent with what is done on the market, on an artisanal product, with specificities.”
Credit : Yann Launay
Arnaud Durat
Credit : Yann Launay
Cuddling now also means chocolate bars without the 14 major allergens, and new products will be announced by the end of the year.
The demand is there and orders are multiplying, Kâliner will now be distributed in Biocoops in the great West. Sales are also starting in Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg, and a Canadian distributor is showing interest. The spread is also available on the Kâliner website.
